#bardic asks

[bacchuschucklefuck]

no more fan-ta-sizing about it! everything's already changed~

[geraskierfanficprompts]

Prompt 50

`An alternate universe where everything is much the same, except Jaskier has D&D-style bardic magic, and is more than capable of joining Geralt on easier contracts, using his magic to boost Geralt's abilities almost as good as some of his potions.

[tomthefanboy]

D&D Movie Follows the Rules

I want to make it very clear that this was not a criteria for me to enjoy D&D Honor Among Thieves. I would not have blamed the actors, crew, or writers if this had not been the case…

I was unable to find anything that would interfere with the Rules as Written.

There are things that go beyond the rules included in the Player's Handbook, yes. But everything is well within the realm of feats, magic items, and background abilities that needn't be specifically called out or even have visible evidence. Everything in the film is BALANCED. ESPECIALLY for high level characters.

In every fight scene I compulsively counted 6 second rounds and saw no damage dealt that would be beyond the normal number of attacks for the character. Weapons drawn fell within the range of bonus actions. No spells cast too quick. No simultaneous concentration spells. Spells stayed in keeping with saving throws, durations, ranges, and areas of effect. Creature abilities and attacks matched their statistic entries. Class abilities like rage or wild magic even stayed in their framework.

One possible issue would be wildshape going beyond the usual "twice per day"and shows 6 uses in one encounter. But a feat to trade spell slots for shapes fixes that! Even the owlbear of it all is easy enough to dismiss with Polymorph, a magic item, or simply replacing the Circle of the Moon's Elemental form with 4 Monstrosities (more than fair since it's a drop from CR5 to CR3). But even if you had to bend the capabilities, the uses of wildshape are still utilized as actions and bonus actions within their rounds and don't grant any abilities not in keeping with rules.

Bigger nerds than me can cry homebrew all they want but the DMG provides framework for changes in keeping with game balance and Tasha's Cauldron laid the groundwork for even more customization. And if you let player characters craft magic items then you might as well just log off mad about it.

It's all there on the page! (It's even more rules compliant if you don't restrict yourself to 5th edition. I can show you all SORTS of nonsense you can get away with if you turn back the clock!)

D&D Honor Among Thieves is more than a great movie! The diverse cast, the detailed production design, the writing that mixes high fantasy with the hi-jinks that INEVITABLY happen at the game table, and the unnecessarily accurate choreography make it a MASTERPIECE in adaptation!

[blackjackkent]

Hey there! Hope you're well 💜🙂

I'd love to see this one from the cuddling prompt list for Astarion x Whoever you'd like if that's okay! No worries if not 💜

"The small inkling of panic that the other may leave when they shift positions and then the relief when that’s all it was."

(Cuddling prompt list)

Oooh. Interesting! I haven't done a ton of writing with Astarion. c: New challenge! (Full disclosure, I haven't finished his romance yet so this is a bit experimental. But I hope you like! :) )

Alexis is the Tav I have currently in progress for romancing him.

-----

Back in the Gate, in the gang hideout where Alexis spent most of her life, there were a number of stray cats that always seemed to be hanging around. Not surprising, Jax would always say. Place full of rats like us, ‘course the cats will show up. And everyone would laugh, because Jax was the sort of person who'd kick your teeth in if you didn't appreciate his humor. 

Mostly the cats kept to themselves, but there was one, a scraggly little calico, who sometimes came and hung around Alexis's bunk. He'd sometimes curl up next to her side, or sprawl over her legs, but on very rare occasions, he'd climb up on her chest and settle himself in with his paws under him and purr. 

It was cute as fuck and about the softest thing that ever tended to happen to her; the downside was it meant no more moving for the rest of the night. Once she stirred - to scratch her nose, to roll over, to take a piss - that cat was off like a shot, usually digging his claws in on the way out. 

Cuddling with Astarion feels sort of like that. 

“Comfortable?” she murmurs into his hair. 

She feels his body shake slightly in her arms as he laughs. “You ask me that here, darling?” His face is muffled against her neck. He likes leaving it there when they end up curled up like this, his lips just brushing over the scars he’s left under her jaw. She hasn’t asked him why, but she suspects it makes him feel a little more in control. A reminder that she doesn’t own him when she holds him like this; that he could roll over, sink his fangs in, if he needed to. 

But he never has. When he needs to pull away, she lets him go.

Sometimes she wants to pull away herself, really. This is all just as new to her. He’s not the only one testing out new freedom, “conveniently lost” and never going back, and there are nights when the love (might as well call it what it is, at least to herself) feels a little like panic. It’s the reason she always sleeps with her legs wrapped around one of his, one under and one over. Just like his mouth at her neck, it’s a combat move stripped of its intensity; if he tried to trap her, she could dig the lower boot into the ground for leverage, force him over onto his back, and run.

But she never has. When she needs to pull away, he lets her go, too.

She grins crookedly. “Yeah, I mean other than the, y’know, terrible shadowlands and the impending descent into some weird Sharran bullshit.”

“Ah, I see. Yes, the ambience definitely leaves something to be desired. The company, however…” He hesitates, his fingertips twitching slow circles along her hip. “The company is immaculate.”

“Flatterer.”

“No.” His tone is unusually serious. “I don’t have to do that anymore.”

She grunts. “Weird feeling?”

“Incomprehensibly.” He sighs. His breath is as cool as the rest of his body, a chill breeze over her pulse point. “Lying is easy, you know. You know,” he repeats with a dash of humor, acknowledging her own shadowy past. “It’s the saying things that are true that’s… disconcerting. But that’s what separates this from… all of it.”

She nods. “Keep telling me something true, then,” she says softly.

“Oh, no.” She can hear the smirk in his voice now. “I already told you you were immaculate. I believe it’s your turn.”

“Fuck you.” 

“Fair is fair, darling. Can’t let your ego outstrip mine, you know.”

She turns her head so her lips just brush his ear, and she’s gratified to feel a soft shiver go through him. “You were the only thing that kept me from bailing on this whole fucking group, right from the beginning. No one else seemed to get it, how getting scooped up by that ship was the best and the worst thing that had ever happened to me, all at the same time. But you got it. You get it.”

“Yes.” His fingertips dig into her side sharply, just for a moment, then release.

“And then I couldn’t just leave you to deal with these lunatics all by yourself.”

“Implying you, of course, happen to be particularly sane.”

She snorts. “Wouldn’t go that far.” A pause. “Your turn. Something true.”

He goes still. Then his weight shifts backwards and for a moment a burst of regret goes through her. Too much, Lex… it felt too easy, for a moment there, and you pushed too much… He’ll clam up now, roll over and go quiet like he does when he feels like he’s losing control of the moment, or of himself. She doesn’t blame him for it, but she doesn’t want him to go…

But to her surprise, this time he doesn’t pull away. He just draws his head back so he can look into her eyes. She can barely see him in the dimness, though she knows he can see her clearly; those deep red eyes see everything, every moment.

“I’m scared, I think,” he admits softly. 

“Yeah. Me too,” she answers.

A beat. His lips twitch. “We’re both, of course, talking about the Sharran temple. All that black marble. Terrifying.”

She grins. “Yeah. Of course we are.”

[forcedhesitation]

dead by daylight-- the game where you can play as steve harrington from stranger things, and can get sent to partake in a match of murder hide and seek at midwich elementary from silent hill, where you can then use a lute to perform bardic inspiration from dungeons and dragons to give a bonus to your teammates, except for the one who is being chased by nemesis from resident evil 3.

[bardic-tales]

Happy Blorbo Blursday!! What's some pet names that Bianca and Sephiroth call each other?

🦖

Happy Blorbo Blursday, Prehistoric. I hope you are having a wonderful day! Thanks for the ask.

Bianca and Sephiroth call each other all sorts of pet names.

Sephiroth: Bia, dove, birdie, angel, demon, imp, and kitten. Outside of kitten, he also likes to call her his little dove and sweetling.

Bianca: Seph, Sephy (when she is playfully taunting him), starlight, her chosen one, pretty boy, her king, her god, and, sometimes, her everything. She doesn't have as many as he does and, most of the time, just calls him Seph. She has called him a 'cyan-eyed charmer' when he was trying to flirt with her one time.

For more Blurbo Blursday answers centered on Fantasy Worlds Collide, please see the tag bb: fwc.

[smallnico]

For the Tav ask game: 20, 23, and 24 (will always take any opportunity to learn more about Esper >:3)

~ @bardic-perdita

and of course i will take any opportunity to talk about esper!! thank u!!!!

20. What is their relationship to touch? Do they shy away from it? Do they need it to feel present?

esper's relationship to touch is complicated! they crave it just as much as any person does, and they're horribly touch starved, but they struggle to get physically close to living beings without feeling the itch of the urge telling them to kill. they love affection, it just takes them a bit to warm up to it.

pre-tadpole, they were afraid to defy what they knew to be the direction of bhaal, so they just never got close to anyone they weren't actively killing, and when they were occasionally overcome with the animal need for affection, they would do things like kill with their bare hands or snuggle up to corpses in the temple repository. post-tadpole, though, they work through their initial hesitation to touch (the urge still craves violence, but esper is providing enough resistance through the power of mindfulness that it's not overpowering, beyond the initial kneejerk anxiety that they feel because What If I Can't Stop Myself) in small doses until they're comfortable enough with it that they're constantly all over people. it helps that most of the physical contact they have to start with is with astarion -- since he doesn't have the same life signs as a living person, esper doesn't feel the same itch to make the life signs stop. really not beating the necrophilia allegations there, esper.

23. How does your Tav act in situations of stress? In moments of peace?

esper is at their best in situations of stress just because their life thus far has been nothing but operating at perfectionist capacity under constant stress. it feels the most normal to them. depends on the stressor too, though -- they're very goal-oriented, so as long as they have a clear Thing to aim at they're in their element, but in a situation where they really don't know what to do and nobody else is taking charge i think esper would just start biting people.

the other side of this is that esper never ever relaxes, lmao. they fill their downtime with tasks so they don't have to sit still with their thoughts for any extended periods. one of their classic downtime activities is playing their lyre in resonance with the sounds in their surroundings as a way of keeping watch using magic, but if they're not doing that you're just as likely to find esper working themself into a migraine trying to puzzle out the pieces or their memories or practicing their swordsmanship. they don't like sleeping either, since it brings nightmares and possibly murders. if esper weren't literally an unkillable demigod they would be collapsing from exhaustion regularly, but they are one, so they see nothing wrong with the way they currently do things.

24. What does your Tav consider to be their own biggest character flaw?

i mean, the uncontrollable murder urge is a big one. it's not the murder that bothers them as much as the lack of control that bothers them, but that's also the easy answer, so how about another one? have a list actually, esper is very self-critical.

- lethal perfectionism

- judgemental. they have high standards for everyone else too

- poor hygiene and self-care, just does not know how to do all that and doesn't think it's worth the effort (because they hate themself)

- moral compass is entirely ungrounded, they're down for all kinds of unethical or illegal shit as long as people won't get mad. this means if they can get away with doing something objectively evil they'll do it if they think it's fun

- very strongly motivated by approval and praise. will do some dark shit for you if they like you and want you to like them

- also in that vein, very private with information that probably matters to the party until the last possible minute, such as their urges, because they're ashamed and afraid of the lack of control

- will drive themself into the ground with how hard they work themself and how little they rest

they know all of these things. the only redeeming quality to how ruthlessly they judge and incisively roast everyone around them is the fact that they will, at the drop of a hat, do the same thing to themself. but they also only just started having a personality recently so they're open to being nicer to people if it means people will like them more. which it does. part of the reason they started experimenting with being a good person (and discovered it was kind of nice and gratifying and rewarding so they decided to do it more) was to impress wyll and karlach. esper has the moral backbone of a pudding cup but they are ride or die for competent people who are genuinely nice to them.

but all that said they would probably say the murder urge and lack of physical autonomy is their biggest flaw until you specified a personality flaw, at which point they would present you with the list above (signed and notarized).

[asirensrage]

Happy Tender Tuesday. This is for an OC of your choosing. Does your OC have any siblings? What is their dynamic like?

It's Saturday, but I'm answering it now lol

I think it'd be most fun to answer this for Takara. Mainly because of the two different lives she leads or has led.

In her role as Takara, she has a younger brother, Takemichi. He's the hero of his story, and when Takara meets him, she gains a deep affection for him and his story... especially as he tries to help her adjust. The two of them care about each other deeply and both are the type to sacrifice themselves for the other. Which causes problems.

In her old life, she had two older brothers. Her family was very sports and goal-oriented. They all loved each other, but things happen as the youngest in the family. Especially when you're the only girl. She learned how to rough house, but she has been held to a higher standard than her brothers. She's had to work twice as hard to get any of the same chances they did (like needing to do figure skating and gymnastics just to play hockey) and deal with the sexism of being a girl in male-dominated areas. Still, she was close with her brothers....as long as she remembered them...

[coreene]

How about 3 and 30 for the couples ask questions? 🙂

Oh hey - thank you for the ask! I was not expecting it and both questions gave me a pause, not going to lie. Here is the post with the questions! I'd love to answer more if anyone else is curious.

But let's go for #3 and 30!

3. What's their favourite thing to tease each other about?

They both love teasing each other for showing affection. They are both bad at it and when they see it on each other it's a perfect opportunity for a laugh.

Separately Astarion likes letting her take the lead in explorations. Even though, she will occasionally get lost or pull them into trouble because she saw a book or a shiny gem. You can be sure that he will tease her about it when it happens but he won't offer to take the lead.

Lorelei on the other hand loves teasing Astarion about his silly plans. She will listen to him go on about his grand dreams of usurping some kind of power with no intentions of enabling him considering said plans usually come down to "we'll just kill everyone."

30. Where is their relationship the strongest?

I started typing something for this but then thinking about it I changed it. Their strongest trait as a couple is they work incredibly well with each other.

From the moment they've entered to Wither's temple, it was clear how much in sync they were. She would notice the traps and he would disarmed them. He could conjure up an illusion as Lorelei slipped behind the enemies They were both rogues specializing in different skills. Hide-ambush, detect traps-lock pick doors, it became a reflex almost instantly.

They made a perfect tomb raiding pair. It put them together in many occasions. Whenever they needed stealth it was just the two of them working together. And they were good, much better than they would be if they were working alone. Covering the skills the other was lacking.

So the answer is working together. That's where their relationship is the strongest.

[kckramer]

Happy WBW! What kinds of technology or magical advancements exist in your world?

Hello, thank you!

And this one is much easier, thankfully! For Iron Horizons, the biggest technological development is the -Nth Dimensional drive that allows starships to travel at speeds far faster than light while also not violating any laws of causality.

Relying on the work of Dr. Albert Einstein, who realized that if Energy equaled the mass of an object times the speed of light squared and it could be expressed as an equation, there must be a way to re-equalize the formula- leading to the discovery of what came to be called “negative dimensions” into which a ship could slip and travel the stars.

It’s not instantaneous, and requires objects to have mass to function, but it makes interstellar travel and trade feasible and profitable.

[elijasz]

Did a little reference sheet for Blaize :)

Here's what I think about this lovely genasi:

They use all pronouns because my feelings towards his gender depend on my mood of the day.

[ilovedthestars]

I don’t know how to do this but for your ask game, Mensah?

Hi Bardic!! don't worry, you did a great job!!

(Send me a character ask game)

First impression

The thing with Murderbot fandom is that I saw a lot of fandom stuff before I actually read the books, so my first impressions were largely formed by other people's analysis. So...probably the general fandom consensus that she's competent, caring, and a Favorite Human not only of Murderbot but many readers as well.

Impression now

I love her!! I like all the PresAux humans for different reasons, but if I have to pick a favorite, it's probably Mensah. She's admirable in so many ways, but still has faults--like the assumptions she makes about what Murderbot wants at the end of ASR, which she learns from after it leaves. She feels so human, which is both a sign of excellent character writing and a perfect counterpoint to Murderbot and its blend of humanness and inhumanity.

Favorite moment

Oh, there are so many to choose from. If I have to pick...something from Exit Strategy, which pre-System Collapse was probably my favorite book in the series (and could still give SC a run for its money). I can't decide between that moment of reunion--the ping, the tell me your name, the hug--and that moment in the shuttle when she grabs it by the collar and tells it No. It probably has to be that one--I will never be over the moment when Murderbot realizes she isn't afraid of it, and it doesn't want her to be.

Idea for a story

Besides that animatic I had in the works a while back (i have no idea when I'll get back to it, but I hope to someday)...

I had a fic idea a while back, inspired by other fic authors' takes on a similar idea, where Mensah talks to an old associate who works with augments, and arranges a way for Murderbot to have its company logos removed. I second-guessed how to handle various aspects of that a lot, but I did enjoy the Emotions it included. It's on the big pile of Things I May Or May Not Ever Finish Writing, alas (but I'd be willing to dig it up and share some snips if anyone's interested)

Unpopular opinion

I don't think Mensah is that controversial lol? I guess maybe...as much as I like ART, I do wish we got to spend more time with Mensah and Murderbot, on Preservation (or elsewhere). They mean a lot to each other, and I would love to linger with their relationship more. I can hope for her to return in future books, although it seems unlikely she'll appear in the next one. Speaking of which, I wanted a little more closure with her and Murderbot at the end of System Collapse (which is why I ended up writing it myself when given the chance for the gift exchange)

Favorite relationship

Murderbot & Mensah, no question. They are peak platonic love and deep, deep care for each other that mostly goes unspoken but is always, always felt. She was one of the first people to really see it, to know it as a person. It ran away from her and then turned back to save her life yet again. She trusts it with her life. It trusts her with its safety. She's its favorite human. They gave us the phrase "I really like you, not in a weird way" as a way for all us fans to say we love each other like they love each other. They make my little aro heart so happy <3

Favorite headcanon

....I'm drawing a blank on this one, honestly? I have trouble drawing the line between a personal interpretation of canon and a headcanon sometimes. But I can't think of anything specific that I headcanon about Mensah.

Thank you for the ask! <3

[lutethebodies]

Follow the Muse

Follow the Muse without fear, for fear is the opposite of creativity.

Follow the Muse over lines and through walls and around corners and into the unknown. You will not be led astray, unless that is your chosen destination.

Follow the Muse without fretting over your choice of creative subject. No truth is sacred and no taboo is forbidden. No ideology is correct and no opinion is definitive (including this one). No solution is foolproof and no judgment is ironclad. Creativity is not subject to things like logic or reality, for creativity defines, redefines, and combines whatever it requires to accomplish anything.

Follow the Muse without fretting over how your creativity might be received (or ignored). Praise can be validating, but others' opinions or biases or snobbery or gatekeeping or morality may absolutely be disregarded if those things impede your creativity. If the Muse inspires you to disregard A, B, or C rule or convention or norm, so be it. If you've learned any rules, the Muse will definitely require you to break them sooner or later for the sake of personal growth or creative wisdom.

Follow the Muse without fretting over how your process might be judged. You'll soon discern the line between constructive criticism and reactive, reductive, judgmental bullshit. If the Muse inspires you to use X, Y, or Z tool or technique or shortcut that The Nebulous They have deemed problematic at best or immoral at worst, so be it. The Muse may later inspire you to abandon those things in favor of other methods that work better for you, which is fine—but only if or when you decide to do so.

Follow the Muse elsewhere after you've finished creating something, for once you've released that thing into the universe its reception cannot be controlled. If you've trusted your Muse and created something compelling, your creation may indeed survive any effort to constrain or condemn or steal or otherwise disingenuously misinterpret it. If it does not survive, mourn it if you wish, but if you follow the Muse, you'll soon create something new to supersede it.

Follow the Muse because you are a creative person. You will make something new and worthy with each attempt, successful or not, for at the very least whatever you make will be unique because you made it.

Follow the Muse without fear. You will not regret it.

[creators-club]

Going to be sending out asks for Storyteller Saturday to the members who signed up for the weekly events.

For any additional questions, how to join, or info, please see our guidelines post for the club. Thank you.

[smallnico]

For the Tav ask game: 31, 34, and 69 😊

~ @bardic-perdita 💜

thanks for askin!!!

31. What does your Tav think of the Underdark and the Myconids?

esper actually likes the underdark a lot. like, it's dangerous and unpredictable, but to them that feels like home. somehow the rolls in the game made it so they were almost incapable of passing a nature or survival roll on the surface but they Consistently passed them in the underdark, so i think they were nostalgic for that childhood they couldn't remember.

esper likes the myconids, too. they find them a little unsettling but quickly warm up to them, feeling a sort of kinship with the way they think (through song!) right from the beginning. they also appreciate that no dead body goes to waste down there.

34. Does your Tav react to the Sussur flower (Sorcerer) or how would they react if it affected them?

in-game esper had no reaction, but they did start to panic a little when they couldn't 'hear' the ambient magic they tune into to use their skills, and tried to get away from the flowers as soon as physically possible. esper relies on their magic to regulate their urges, so they didn't want to linger. :p

69. Does your Tav run into Orin? If so, what's their first opinion?

oh, do they ever. esper's feelings were complicated, since the first time they encountered orin in-game was before their bhaalspawn revelation by a couple of days. it was a very "hey what's this stranger talking about that we're related, haha" in front of the other companions, but with the extremely looming dark cloud of knowledge they were afraid to confront that was like "oh yeah no you definitely know this person. she is Not shitting you. it all makes sense", especially given their obsessive collecting of anything they felt Might have to do with them. it's different when you learn that your fucked up past is still alive.

esper was deeply unsettled by her ability to evade their powers of psychic detection, but then again, she's had a lifetime of practice compensating for a stronger form of those same powers. but after bhaal gave them some of their memories and his missive for them to duel orin to the death, they relaxed a little -- scant memories of how they used to think and feel about orin started to come back, and it was easier to process her presence when they could think of her without incurring a big ol' headache. they remembered that she regularly met their absurd standards for competence, kept her shapeshifters in line and commanded their respect, but also that she had an inexorable taste for needless theatrics and a thirst for acknowledgement that embarrassed esper so much (because it reminded them of their own. and she was worse at hiding it).

current esper, without pre-tad esper's baggage, weirdly remembers the things they respected about orin and sympathized with her on More, outside of the warped lens of self hatred. they still talk shit, but i think orin was caught pretty off-guard by hearing her notoriously cold-blooded and harsh bloodkin tell her with genuine love and care that she deserved better than to end up here, to actually call her sister. no wonder she thought it was some kind of sick power play.

[asirensrage]

Trick or Treat, from the Creators Club.

from this post

TREAT!

What is your favourite part about writing Bianca's story?